Billycan
A billycan (also known as billy or billy tin for short, or billy pot in Canada ) is a lightweight cooking pot made of metal or with an enamel coating, which is used over campfires for boiling water, especially for tea and coffee. The Billycan pot has a metal wire to carry or to hang over the fire and is also used for cooking. The use of the term billycan is particularly widespread in Australia and it is even classified by the Australian National Museum in Canberra as a symbol of the bush life of Australia such as the eucalyptus , kangaroo and acacia .
term
Billycan is mainly used as a term in Australia and was first recorded in writing in 1870. The term goes back to camp life in the outback of Australia. But it is also common in New Zealand , Great Britain and Ireland . By the late 19th century, the term billycan was widely used in Australia.
History and nostalgia
Today a Billycan is a nostalgic object for a life that no longer exists. The statement boil the billy means making tea in Australia. At events organized for tourists in the Australian outback, tea is always prepared in the billycan by the campfire, although gas burners are also available for this. In the unofficial anthem of Australia, Waltzing Mathilda , with a song text by Banjo Paterson from 1895, the teakettle Billy appears several times. "Billy Tea" (mixture of black tea and eucalyptus leaves ) was a type of tea in Australia that has been available in retail stores and supermarkets for a long time and is now being offered again (2020).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Symbols of Australia. Billly . In: National Museum of Australia undated, Retrieved April 1, 2010
- ↑ Tom Dalzell, Victor Terry: Billycan . In: The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, Retrieved from Google Books on April 1, 2020